What is the health insurance marketplace?

Missouri is participating in a health insurance marketplace run by the federal government.

What does this mean for individuals, families and small businesses in Missouri? Basically, it means there is a new way for you to obtain health insurance and have control over your health insurance options.

So, how do you get signed up? First, you need to do a little homework. That’s where we come into help. Enroll Missouri provides a centralized source of information for individuals, small businesses and others to learn more about the health insurance marketplace, opportunities for premium assistance to purchase health insurance and more. Once you know your options, then you can get signed up for health coverage.

So, are you ready to enroll Missouri? Great — let’s get started!

Enrollment Made Easy

In final regulations released in September, CMS said the federal exchange will automatically renew health plans for consumers who purchased coverage through the exchange in 2014 if they have not taken any action on their own by Dec. 15. The rule gives consumers who purchased health plans through the federal exchange one month after the launch of the new open enrollment period to return to the exchange to choose to keep their existing plan or select a new one. Under the rule, consumers who are automatically re-enrolled will be able to keep the tax subsidies they received in 2014 as long as their incomes did not significantly change and they authorized the IRS to view their tax returns. If consumers' existing plans have been canceled, they will automatically be moved into a similar plan.

Medicaid Enrollment

Missouri Medicaid applications are now being submitted through the new insurance marketplace, and the uninsured are only allowed to apply for insurance coverage through the marketplace or through Medicaid.

New processes can be difficult to learn, and we are here to help. Here are some tips for accessing the MEDES (Missouri Eligibility Determination & Enrollment System) citizen portal, along with a participant guide for applying for health care based on MAGI (modified adjusted gross income) calculation. Here's a map of MAGI Processing Center locations.

Taking Stock and Taking Steps

During the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s first period of open enrollment October 2013 – March 2014, an estimated fourteen million people enrolled for health coverage through the new private insurance Marketplaces (8 million) and through Medicaid (6 million). The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released a report from the field after the first year of marketplace consumer assistance under the ACA.